v0.34:Ghost

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v50.14 · v0.47 · v0.34.11 · v0.31 · v0.28 · v0.23 This article is about an older version of DF. More Info · V

This article or section contains minor spoilers. You may want to avoid reading it.

After the death of an intelligent creature or a dwarf (zing!), its soul may occasionally come back as a ghost Ñ. In a Dwarven fortress, dead dwarves have a chance of returning as ghosts if they are not properly buried or memorialized after their death. Ghosts often take to haunting their relatives and friends, following them around on the same tile, as well as lingering wistfully near areas they frequented in life or the spot they died. However, not all ghosts bear their anguish calmly.

Ghosts are able to pass through walls and cannot be harmed by atom-smashing. They can be targeted in the Squad kill screen (s,k) even though they won't actually be attacked. Ghosts can be dismissed by burying the remains or by building engraving rock slabs in memory of the deceased.

Paranormal Activity

Ghosts haunting the fortress will occasionally perform some of the following actions, based on their temperament:

• <ghost> sucks the wind out of <dwarf>
• <ghost> raises a high fever in <dwarf>
• <ghost> makes <dwarf> convulse and retch
• <ghost> inflicts excruciating pain upon <dwarf>
• <ghost> causes a spell of dizziness in <dwarf>
• <ghost> paralyzes <dwarf>
• <ghost> stuns <dwarf>
• <ghost> batters <dwarf>
• <dwarf> is throwing a tantrum, possessed by <ghost>
• <ghost> has risen and is haunting the fortress!
• <ghost> is following <dwarf>
• <item> has been misplaced. No doubt <ghost> is to blame!
• <ghost> is throwing objects around the fortress!
• <ghost> can be heard howling throughout the fortress!

The ghost's activities may be determined by the nature of its death. The following table summarizes the different types of ghosts. If you "slab" a ghost and then re-arise it by deconstructing the slab, it may change type.

Type	Cause	Effect
Murderous Ghost	Had a fell mood, had low ALTRUISM, or slab/grave was deconstructed	Murders dwarves.
Sadistic Ghost	Had a macabre mood	Batters, scares and paralyses dwarves. Capable of scaring a dwarf to death.
Violent Ghost	Was berserk, or had high ANGER	Batters dwarves, often but not always removing limbs.
Angry Ghost	Had a possessed mood	Batters dwarves.
Moaning Spirit	Was melancholy, or had high DEPRESSION	Troubles one unfortunate dwarf at a time.
Howling Spirit	Was stark raving mad, or had high VULNERABILITY	Makes sleeping difficult.
Secretive Poltergeist	Had a secretive mood, or had high SELF_CONSCIOUSNESS	Misplaces Items.
Energetic Poltergeist	Had a fey mood, or had high ACTIVITY_LEVEL	Topples furniture, such as chairs.
Troublesome Poltergeist	Had high IMMODERATION	Misplaces items, may topple furniture and pull levers.confirm?
Restless Haunt	Had more GREGARIOUSNESS than DUTIFULNESS	Drifts around place of death and frequented locations. Also haunts dwarves, causing unhappy thoughts.
Forlorn Haunt	Had less GREGARIOUSNESS than DUTIFULNESS	Drifts around place of death and frequented locations.

Adventure mode

If you revisit your fortress during adventure mode, the ghosts found previously will still remain. Although, take care! The ghosts may attempt to 'scare you to death' almost instantly.

"Ghostly" Dwarves

When a dwarf dies and becomes a ghost, its Legends mode entry lists it as a "ghostly" dwarf. All actions taken by the dwarf during both life and death will then be attributed the the ghostly dwarf. This will generate messages like "the ghostly dwarf Urist McHauntypants arrived in Cagesyrups" even when the dwarf was obviously not a ghost yet when it immigrated.

Science on Ghosts

Cave-ins do not kill ghosts, perhaps because they can walk through walls already.

Ghosts are put to rest when any part of their body is put in a burial receptacle.^[Verify] For example, should a dwarf lose a toe in a fight before dying, the toe can be recovered to put its ghost to rest.

Ghosts will also be put to rest if they are properly memorialized, which is usually preferable if the dwarf is not easily accessible.

Ghosts can open doors, even forbidden ones (leaving them unlocked).

Ghosts can be frozen in water.

It is possible for a ghost to become the outpost liaison of a civilization.

Ghost can and will grow up and die of old age.

Ghostly fisherdwarves will keep fishing in the afterlife, and ghostly animal trainers will gladly train your captured animals for you.

Bugs

Some ghost names can't be engraved on slabs, and some slabs can be engraved for nameless creatures. ^Bug:3708

Caravan guards can't be memorialized. ^Bug:5755